"The State of Israel ... will ensure complete equality of social and political
rights of all its inhabitants irrespective of religion ... it will guarantee freedom
of religion and conscience." - May 1948)

Quote

"The State of Israel is not a halachic state but rather is a nation-state of all the Jewish people. Many Jews are becoming alienated because they feel that the State of Israel does not respect the way they practice Judaism.”

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On Sunday, Israel’s cabinet approved an affirmative action initiative enabling more ultra-Orthodox workers to find employment in the civil service, as part of Shas’s leader, Minister Rabbi Aryeh Deri’s strategy to integrate the Haredi community into the civil service.

Last week, Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau publicly rebuked Naftali Bennett, Israel’s minister of education and Diaspora affairs. Bennett’s religious sin, per Lau, was visiting the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, and tweeting an enthusiastic reflection of the school and the love for Israel and Judaism that he had seen there.

It is difficult to conceive of a greater contradiction than that between Chief Rabbi David Lau’s outrageous statement last week, lashing out at Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to the Conservative Movement’s Schechter School in Manhattan, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s welcome declaration at last month’s General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, where he stated that he would “ensure that all Jews – Reform, Conservative and Orthodox – feel at home in Israel.”

Israel’s politicians have deliberately chosen to pursue legislation which is not only immoral but also unconstitutional, having been struck out twice already by the Supreme Court. The question, though, is how long it will take the Supreme Court to rule that this most recent amendment is illegal as well. Our politicians may be counting on this very fact: the wheels of justice grind slowly…

The formula "Jewish and democratic" remains not only unsettled, but actually serves as a mine field. Frequent explosions occur, for religious extremists feeling constrained do not hesitate to threaten the institutions of the State to have their demands met.

Only one year ago, Chief Rabbi Lau self-righteously preached to the Pope, proclaiming Israel's greatness in protection of religious freedom, and now he himself aimed to curtail Christian prayer services in Jerusalem.

Chief Rabbi David Lau reminds us once again why the mindset of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is so misguided and objectionable. His manipulative approach is rejected throughout the Jewish diaspora and nowhere throughout the democratic Jewish communities would such “logic” hold water.

Even as we celebrate with our brothers and sisters in North America, we are disheartened that only some of the Jewish organizations at the forefront of this battle for equality and defense of marriage have been active or even supportive when it comes to advocating for marriage freedom in Israel.

The cataclysmic consequences of the irresponsible policies pursued by most Israeli governments when it comes to the dictates of their religious coalition partners have been reinforced by a major study of Israel’s economy through 2059, published recently by Assaf Geva, a senior Finance Ministry economist.